1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a card edge connector, and in particular to a card edge connector comprising a switch type retainer for retaining a daughter board in the connector.
2. The Related Arts
A card edge connector connects a daughter board or a card to a mother board. An example of the card edge connector is a connector for connecting an Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) card to a computer mother board. A conventional card edge connector comprises an insulative housing defining an elongate central slot for receiving an edge of the daughter board. Conductive contacts are retained in the housing and are allowed to engage conductive pads formed on the daughter board.
Such a structure, however, cannot securely retain a daughter board in the card edge connector. Thus, an AGP connector is equipped with a separate retainer for securing the daughter board in the connector. An example of the separate retainer is shown in Taiwan Patent Application No. 86215468. Using the separate retainer to securely retain a daughter board in a card edge connector requires the provision of additional parts and sometimes special tools for installing these additional parts. Costs are of course increased.
Taiwan Patent Application No. 88216650 discloses a card edge connector with a retainer integrally formed with a housing of the connector. An example of such a card edge connector is shown in FIG. 1 wherein a card edge connector generally designated at 1xe2x80x2 comprises an elongate housing 10xe2x80x2 defining a slot 14xe2x80x2 extending in a longitudinal direction thereof for receiving a daughter board or card (not shown). A plurality of conductive contacts 21xe2x80x2 are retained in the housing 10xe2x80x2 on opposite sides of the slot 14xe2x80x2. The contacts 21xe2x80x2 are allowed to extend beyond side surfaces 16xe2x80x2 of the slot 14xe2x80x2 to engage with the daughter board or card received in the slot 14xe2x80x2. A deflectable arm 22xe2x80x2 integrally extends from an end face 19xe2x80x2 of the housing 10xe2x80x2. A latch pin 24xe2x80x2 extends from the deflectable arm 22xe2x80x2 for selectively engaging with a notch or hole defined in the daughter board to secure the daughter board.
The housing 10xe2x80x2 and the arm 22xe2x80x2 are usually made of synthetic material. In order to be deflectable, the arm 22xe2x80x2 must be made thin. Such a thin arm 22xe2x80x2 is mechanically weak and can be broken when being over-deflected.
It is thus desirable to provide an improved card edge connector for overcoming the above mentioned problem.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a card edge connector comprising a retainer that requires no deflection in operation so as to avoid damage caused by over-deflection.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a card edge connector comprising a switch type retainer.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a card edge connector comprising a retainer that is easy to operate.
To achieve the above objects, a card edge connector in accordance with the present invention comprises an insulative housing defining a central slot for receiving a circuit board. A block is formed on an end of the housing and defines a cavity in an outside surface thereof. A socket defined by two opposing arc sections is formed inside the cavity. A switching button comprises a pivot and first and second side sections extending from the pivot and inclined with respect to each other. The button is arranged in the cavity with the pivot rotatably received and retained in the socket whereby the button is rotatable about the pivot between a first position where the first side section is moved into the cavity while the second side section is moved out of the cavity and a second position where the first side section is moved out of the cavity while the second side section is moved into the cavity. A latch pin extends from the first side section. The latch pin engages a notch defined in the circuit board when the button is in the first position thereby securing the circuit board in the connector. The latch pin disengages from the notch when the button is in the second position thereby releasing the circuit board from the connector.